Ekulus would like to thank everyone who attended and participated at the Oracle Modern Business Experience last Thursday, May 4th. Together with IOOF and Bank of Guam, we had a wonderful time sharing real life experiences about smarter customer experience in today’s customer-driven world.
Here are some highlights of our talk:
Our session included a discussion of the significant role that Millennials have today, the value of knowing your purpose, and the importance of having a client-first approach. We also discussed the benefit of incorporating technology to improve customer experience.
Understanding Millennials and Your Business
There is a growing demographic today and if you haven’t thought about this portion of the population, you’re missing out on a lot of business opportunities.
Yes, we are talking about the Millennials. Nielsen defined them as people born between 1977 and 1995. Unlike older generations, Millennials grew up with technology as part of their lives. For them, it’s the standard. For other generations, however, technology is something new that needs to be explored.
Millennials are digital natives who understand their power of choice. They choose organizations they can connect with, relate to, and express themselves to.
According to research, 75% of Millennials believe businesses have the greatest chance to improve the standards of living of communities. Because of this, they prefer companies with a clear sense of purpose and organizations that can change people’s lives and do things better.
With these new sets of expectations and preferences, businesses need to reinvent themselves and undergo two kinds of transformations:
· Technological transformation so Millennials can connect and relate with them
· Cultural transformation to incorporate values and objectives that are dear to their hearts
Two businesses that have reinvented themselves to succeed in a customer-driven world that’s mostly populated with digital natives are IOOF and Bank of Guam.
Knowing Your Purpose and Living Up to It
IOOF offers a full range of financial products and services. They have been in business for over 150 years. What’s notable about them is that they’ve served three generations with completely different characteristics, namely, the Greatest Generation, the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, and Generation X.
The changes they’ve recently made in their processes made them more than ready to face a customer-driven world and serve Millennials.
The biggest change the company had in recent years lies in their mergers and acquisitions. Bringing in new companies into the business means bringing in new cultures too.
With many cultures integrating with each other, it’s easy to lose sight of a company’s purpose. And IOOF knows this.
They understand that to provide better customer experience, they need to have satisfied employees. To achieve employee satisfaction, they need a well-defined purpose.
IOOF created a Sales Enablement department. From focusing on quantitative aspects, such as number of client interactions, they moved to tracking qualitative factors. Today, it’s not just about numbers. Knowing what happened in the interaction helps them provide better experiences to their clients.
How did they do that?
They adapted a client-first approach and developed a better CRM with the help of Ekulus.
Their customized CRM and their client-first approach allowed them to focus on quality and track their customer buying process. With the data their conveniently getting from the CRM, they’re not just selling products anymore. They’re selling ideas and educating clients so they can make informed decisions about securing finances.
Integrating Technology for Better Customer Experience
Another company that has made a huge step towards embracing technology for better customer experience is Bank of Guam.
Bank of Guam is known for their excellent customer service. With 23 branches, ATMs across the country, and 24/7 contact center, customers know they can always depend on the bank. In addition, Bank of Guam is always within reach as their customers have multiple channels to choose from. They can get live chat support, send an email, or go through their customer portal.
But the challenge for Bank of Guam was not to meet customer expectations. The challenge for them was to exceed these expectations. Not long, the bank created a Customer Engagement Group, which aims to celebrate customers and communities. They called it Find Kind Initiatives or #RandomActsofBOG.
Bank of Guam started by popping up in coffee shops to buy everyone a cup of coffee. By being closer to communities, they were able to show that they’re not just there for business. Once local businesses have caught wind of what they were doing, many wanted to collaborate with them.
By reaching out to communities, they were also able to see a 360-degree view of their customer. To exceed expectations, Bank of Guam knew they needed a technology that will provide better engagement for their customers.
With Ekulus by their side, they are setting up a system that won’t just track transactions but also help them better understand and communicate with their customers.
In a customer-driven world, technology does more than automate things. Technology could also help you get to know your customers so you could provide the experience they want and need to stay loyal to your business.
Ready to embrace technology? Get in touch with us to learn more about customer experience and how we can help you achieve your goals.
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